[zb]
anorak:robert1952:
Whoops! I left it in my trouser pocket and it’s shrunk in the wash.That’s a good excuse. I’ll use it in the future.
That’s a very good excuse for a lot of man 
Hiya…how can you not like the MK5, good vision and nicely rounded cab for good fuel consumption.
sleeping arrangements by digs only.or in the box. well i took the fridge off to make it warmer
John
tiptop495:
Hey, A top machine in the '50’s here,Cheers Eric,
As someone who well remembers AECs in their heyday in this country, and it would appear popular in other countries , is it just me who thinks its diabolical that we had a hgv industry that was well ahead of the game , look at it now !!!.
shugg:
tiptop495:
Hey, A top machine in the '50’s here,Cheers Eric,
As someone who well remembers AECs in their heyday in this country, and it would appear popular in other countries , is it just me who thinks its diabolical that we had a hgv industry that was well ahead of the game , look at it now !!!.
Me too, I enjoyed driving the old MK 5, Like you say we had some of the best motors going, Now theres not a British anything, Very sad, Regards Larry.
shugg:
tiptop495:
Hey, A top machine in the '50’s here,Cheers Eric,
As someone who well remembers AECs in their heyday in this country, and it would appear popular in other countries , is it just me who thinks its diabolical that we had a hgv industry that was well ahead of the game , look at it now !!!.
Well, it took the Belgians to put a sleeper cab on the MkV AEC just to keep it abreast of the times, never mind ahead of them. Alas, Britain’s slowness to respond to European demand is a subject discussed many times on these threads… Robert
hey, AEC and Henschel were at the most sold after war, and a big advantage the AEC fired up at once evenin
the cold. Where you had to glow and glow the German’s and other, even Scania learnt at Leyland how to made an direct injection.
Cheers Eric,
robert1952:
shugg:
tiptop495:
Hey, A top machine in the '50’s here,Cheers Eric,
As someone who well remembers AECs in their heyday in this country, and it would appear popular in other countries , is it just me who thinks its diabolical that we had a hgv industry that was well ahead of the game , look at it now !!!.
Well, it took the Belgians to put a sleeper cab on the MkV AEC just to keep it abreast of the times, never mind ahead of them. Alas, Britain’s slowness to respond to European demand is a subject discussed many times on these threads… Robert
0
Hiya…why do we knock the uk for not fitting sleeper cabs until the Sweeds come along. think on the UK is only 880 miles long,
how many deliveries go from Wick to Bodmin.■■?not many…as we see most loads was London- Leeds -Glasgow or Manchester
-London daily. we’ve seen all that painted on lorries. we are an island, nowhere to go. we had ships that brought us things from far away.
where as the German lads was doing 4 days drive with their loads more in some cases. the Sweeds was running to Spain they was geared up for doing 2 weeks away from home and not seeing any water.if the UK had been as big as France we would have had sleepers sooner.
after all you could go through a town (which had digs) every 30 or 40 miles in the UK before we had motorways.why have sleepers when you could go into a house and have your evening meal cooked for you and chat with other drivers maybe go to the pictures.
think about it
John
When we were being instructed in the use of tachographs by either the FTA or RHA back in the late 1970’s the question was raised by a driver about nighting out, the reply was that Britain isn’t big enough to need a night out! Perhaps delivered tongue in cheek but at that time there were plenty of digs etc available, Britain doesn’t have that many parts far from civilization of some description.
Pete.
Most of the smaller firms in the early days expected you to muck in and either help or repair your lorrie so one that was reliable was always more important to me than wheather it was a good one to drive.So having a Guy Warrior with the 5cyl Gardner for my first distance motor was an introduction to an engine that just could’ny be beat for power and reliability. Regular servicing was all that a Gardner ever required. I moved onto Erf’s and Fodens again with Gardners and really in their time there was nothing to beat them especially the Foden with 5.2 diff and 12speed box. Eddie.
3300John:
robert1952:
shugg:
tiptop495:
Hey, A top machine in the '50’s here,Cheers Eric,
As someone who well remembers AECs in their heyday in this country, and it would appear popular in other countries , is it just me who thinks its diabolical that we had a hgv industry that was well ahead of the game , look at it now !!!.
Well, it took the Belgians to put a sleeper cab on the MkV AEC just to keep it abreast of the times, never mind ahead of them. Alas, Britain’s slowness to respond to European demand is a subject discussed many times on these threads… Robert
0
Hiya…why do we knock the uk for not fitting sleeper cabs until the Sweeds come along. think on the UK is only 880 miles long,
how many deliveries go from Wick to Bodmin.■■?not many…as we see most loads was London- Leeds -Glasgow or Manchester
-London daily. we’ve seen all that painted on lorries. we are an island, nowhere to go. we had ships that brought us things from far away.
where as the German lads was doing 4 days drive with their loads more in some cases. the Sweeds was running to Spain they was geared up for doing 2 weeks away from home and not seeing any water.if the UK had been as big as France we would have had sleepers sooner.
after all you could go through a town (which had digs) every 30 or 40 miles in the UK before we had motorways.why have sleepers when you could go into a house and have your evening meal cooked for you and chat with other drivers maybe go to the pictures.
think about it
John
I did it for a few years with out a sleeper, never again. I had a look at some of the "digs " available and I would rather cab it than stay in most of them. As for parking up in a town, no chance, Id rather park in the country and have everything in and on the truck there when I started up in the morning, cows and sheep very rarely nick batteries and tarps.
I had to make every minute of every day count, if that meant getting 50 minutes down the road at night after a yard delivery then that’s how it was. At the end of the week or fortnight I could have an extra load or two in the bank, made a big difference to the bottom line. Sleeper cabs were the best thing that happened to me at the time.
Jeff…
3300John:
Hiya…how can you not like the MK5, good vision and nicely rounded cab for good fuel consumption.
sleeping arrangements by digs only.or in the box. well i took the fridge off to make it warmer
John
Splendid but, IMO 
it would be improved with a bit less clutter on the rad. grille.
That’s only my opinion, it’s the owners right to do what he wants. It’s a ■■■■ fine machine though.
I had a MK5 (8 wheel tanker)for about 6 months in 1966 and I enjoyed it, lovely and comfortable to drive.
Dieseldog66:
Mine would have to be one of these, with a 525 ■■■■■■■■ 13 speed Fuller.
Interesting combination, Dieseldog66. I have spent many happy hours with drivers on long-haul work designing cab interiors on the back of CMR notes over a beer or six, or pondering over the best imaginary combinations of cab, chassis, engine and gearbox. In the end, we all have our very favourites. A cursory look at drivers’ blogs and conversations in truck stops constantly reveals that drivers desire a hybrid version of their favourite model. A driver might wish for a Scania with ■■■■■■■ and Fuller; or conversely, an ERF with a DAF Super-space cab. To be fair on modern truck manufacturers, they have learnt to listen to drivers.
My belief is that if you look hard enough for the your notion of the ideal combination, you will find it among the existing available trucks, so long as you don’t expect it to have been built within the last five years!
I am always fascinated by what sets a driver’s imagination on fire about certain trucks. Some have romantic notions about a model from what they’ve read or heard about from other drivers. Others derive their enthusiasm from trucks they drove in their formative trucking years or even upon trucks they grew up with as boys. More pragmatic drivers admire recently developed technology and go for the latest models. Seasoned drivers will often look simply for reliability and comfort. Owner-drivers may choose frugal trucks that are cost-effective to operate. Robert
I would choose a factory build which was eventually got right it would be the Seddon Atkinson Strato the one with a DAF space cab , 14 litre ■■■■■■■ and twin splitter but by the time they had put together something to rival the Europeans it was too late 
cheers Johnnie
sammyopisite:
I would choose a factory build which was eventually got right it would be the Seddon Atkinson Strato the one with a DAF space cab , 14 litre ■■■■■■■ and twin splitter but by the time they had put together something to rival the Europeans it was too latecheers Johnnie
On paper, that combination ticks an awful lot of boxes for me too. But what about the Twin-splitter installation in the SA? I once drove a Space-cabbed Strato Mk 1, with a Rolls-Royce 365 in it, but the Twin-splitter was a dog to use. The Twin-splitter is one of my top favourite gearboxes, but in the Strato… Perhaps it was that cable-change mechanism… or perhaps they were better matched to ■■■■■■■ in a Sedi than to a Rolls. Who knows? Robert
I think the twin splitter is best in the Erf e series due to the length of the stick ,it’s a fair bit shorter in the EC ,not sure how easy it would be when bunny hopping in lorries with cables ( stiff cables) such as foden s and stratos .
hmmmm-
my fave lorry of all time is a ford transcontinental-my father owned one and it was the holy grail for me.a lottery win and i would have one lol.
my fave as a driver would be a 1992 daf 1900 rigid.12 speed splitter,eminox exhaust-sounded lovely lol-first "proper"lorry i drove.(the crane on it wasnt the best though!!-inside it was just like a 2800/3300 but narrower.i’d gladly drive it again tomorrow if it was in the same state i left it!!
close second would be a scania p113 320 (8x4) that i had for a while.so easy to drive-superb!!
I base my “favourite” on experience, having owned and driven many miles in one.
To be the best of all the different lorries I have driven is no mean feat as I’ve had quite a few of the “supertrucks” but this one was out in front of them all.
It wasn’t the most powerful and never had the biggest cab, but it was a fantastic all rounder, a good combination of power and economy, it was very reliable, comfortable to drive, it looked nice and I sold it for more than I bought it for.
It was a 1996 Scania 143.